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Word of the Lord - 2

II Kings 8:1 'Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst

sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.'

In the above passage, the Lord speaks to Shunnamite through his servant Elisha. We see Eisha cautions her concerning the famine in the land. This was a warning

about the future famine. When we read the previous chapter i.e II Kings 7:1 'Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this

time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.' The word of the Lord explains as to how

they will be delivered miraculously from the current famine. Interestingly, in II Kings chapter 8:1, the word of the Lord comes to deliver the children from the

famine that is about to hit the land. This clearly states that our Lord is a Lord who alerts on the upcoming events and delivers his children. The Lord will

announce his children regarding the struggles of future. As the Lord had a plan for the Shunnamite woman, he has an exclusive plans concerning his children.

We the children of God must obey to the plans of the Lord and act accordingly.Today, let us meditate on how the Lord fulfilled his plans on the Shunnamite woman

through the prophet.

God's Guidance

II Kings 8:1 'Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst

sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.'

Here we see the Lord reveals a plan to the woman and guides her. He advises her by sending his words to deliver her from the awaiting famine. The Lord not only saved

her but her family and her entire household. When we look into the life of Noah, we see the Lord not only saves Noah but saves his entire family from the

destruction. The Lord had a plan concerning the life of Shunnamite and she obeyed to the word of the Lord. She accepted and believed in the words of the Lord.

We read in II Kings 8:2 'And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of

the Philistines seven years.' If she had been disobedient, the entire purpose of the Lord concerning her would have been defeated. The word of the Lord came forth at

the right time and delivered them. The Lord had a seven year plan for the Shunnamite and he plans and executes everything in a perfect way. Even in our lives,

we should obey the word of the Lord instantly. A delayed obedience is counted as disobedience. When God advises to make some changes, we should obey it even when we

do not understand it. When we submit ourselves to the divine guidance of the Lord, we will be delivered from dangers and destructions.

God's protection

II Kings 8:3 'And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for

her house and for her land.'

In the above passage we see the woman safely returned to her homeland. The hands of the Lord protected her for years. According to his word, the Lord protected

her and her belongings for seven years and brought them back from the land of the Philistines. The Lord protected her in such a way that until she returned, she did

not lose what she had nor what she left behind in her homeland. The Lord was gracious enough to protect her according to his word. We read in Psalm 127:1 'except

the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.' We worship the Lord who protects each and everything that pertains to us. May the Lord who protected us so

far protect us continually.

God's time

II Kings 8:4-5 'And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. And it came

to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her

house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.'

Soon after the woman returned to her place after seven years, she decided to go meet the King to cry for the land. While the servant called Gehazi who explains the

King about the true incident on how Elisha restored a boy's life, the woman came there to appeal to the King at the right time. Looking at her, Gehazi exclaims and

says 'My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.'The King was astonished that she came at the very moment while they were

talking about her. On the other side, if we look into her perspective earlier, she must have had a lot of questions concerning her life. She did not understand as to why her

son died and was brought back to life. We can understand this when we read II Kings 4:28 'Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive

me?' When her son died, she was so infuriated and questions the Lord. Earlier she did not understand why this happenend but now she realized many things. Even in our

lives, when we are facing so much pain and sorrows, we should not worry and must expect a miracle. As recorded in Romans 8:28 'And we know that all things work

together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.' We the children of the Lord must wait for the time of the Lord and he

will deliver our captivities and will bring goodness in our lives.

God's restoration

II Kings 8:6 'And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits

of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.'

As we read in the above passage, we see the King reconfirms the incident with the woman. After knowing what had happened to her, the King assigned an officer to

restore everything for her. This is the result of God's guidance, his protection and his time. This is the restoration of the Lord. We read in the passage that she

received an income from her abandoned land. Even in our lives, the Lord will restore everything that is lost and plucked away from our hands. As we read in Joel 2:25

'And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.' The

Lord will repay all financial losses and will stablise our incomes. Therefore, let us all submit ourselves to the ways of the Lord and inherit the blessings from the

Lord almighty. Amen.

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Word of the Lord - 2